1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a neutral-fat-level-regulating agent, a cholesterol-level-regulating agent, a free-fatty-acid-level-regulating agent, an anti-obesity agent and an anemia-ameliorating composition, each of which contains at least one of protopanaxatriol, panaxatriol, protopanaxadiol and panaxadiol.
The present invention also relates to a hyperlipemia-ameliorating agent containing at least one of the neutral-fat-level-regulating agent, the cholesterol-level-regulating agent, the free-fatty-acid-level-regulating agent and the anti-obesity agent.
The present invention also relates to a uric-acid-level-reducing composition containing residues obtained by treating plants belonging to the genus Panax of the family Araliaceae with an acid.
The present invention also relates to a food or beverage containing at least one of the neutral-fat-level-regulating agent, the cholesterol-level-regulating agent, the free-fatty-acid-level-regulating agent, the anti-obesity agent, the anemia-ameliorating composition and the uric-acid-level-reducing composition.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, since Japanese have increased opportunities to eat Western-style diets, the number of patients with diabetes, arterial sclerosis, heart diseases and cerebrovascular disorders has been increasing. The onset of arterial sclerosis has various causes, among which hyperlipemia is known as a main cause.
Blood contains four types of lipids: cholesterol, neutral fat, phospholipid and free fatty acids. Hyperlipemia is a pathological condition where the levels of these lipids, especially the neutral fat level and/or the cholesterol level, are excessively high. Free fatty acids are consumed as energy, but in obese people, an increased amount of free fatty acids is delivered to the liver where they are used to synthesize neutral fat, resulting in an increase in the neutral fat level. The lipids having increased in their levels remain on vascular endothelium to cause arterial sclerosis. However, the obese people do not have any subjective symptoms, and finally do have an attack of cardiac infarction and/or cerebral infarction. In addition, arterial sclerosis deteriorates the condition of high blood pressure and causes kidney diseases and other diseases.
Methods for treating or preventing hyperlipemia are, for example, improvements of lifestyle and drug therapy.
The improvements of lifestyle are, for example, diet therapy and exercise therapy. Obesity causes abnormal lipid metabolism, abnormal-glucose tolerance, and other abnormal conditions, and can accelerate the progress of arterial sclerosis. Thus, importantly, the diet therapy is conducted to normalize the total energy intake, nutrient balances and the cholesterol intake, and the exercise therapy is conducted to keep the body weight normal. However, there is difficulty in selecting optimal methods for diet restriction and exercise therapy, and those receiving such therapies have to continuously and constantly address them.
Administering a drug such as HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor is reported as the above drug therapy. This drug has cholesterol-regulating effects but problematically involves adverse side effects such as hepatic disorder, rhabdomyolysis, an increase in creatine kinase (CPK) level, diarrhea and stomachache.
In addition, there are reports about oral intake of antioxidants such as vitamin E and polyphenol or amino acids such as lysine and proline. These compounds, however, do not have satisfactory preventing and ameliorating effects on hyperlipemia. Furthermore, there are reports about oral intake of plants belonging to the family Araliaceae, especially Panax notoginseng (see International Publication No. WO2005/030235 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) Nos. 59-48421 and 2004-201598). These plants, however, do not have satisfactory effects.
Thus, at present, keen demand has arisen for the provision of a drug which has neutral-fat-level-regulating effects, cholesterol-level-regulating effects, free-fatty-acid-level-regulating effects and anti-obesity effects, which can ameliorate hyperlipemia, and which is naturally occurring and highly safe and can be given as a food or beverage.
In recent years, there have been various problematic symptoms accompanied by anemia.
Anemia is a condition where the number of red blood cells or the amount of hemochrome in the peripheral blood has decreased; i.e., the number of red blood cells is 80% or less of the normal state or the amount of hemochrome is 12 g/dL or less.
In general, the total number of blood cells in blood, especially the number of hemoglobin, decreases with the progress of anemia, so that the ability to transport oxygen decreases to cause lack of oxygen in tissues. As a result, there are observed shortness of breath after exercise, palpitation, dizziness, tinnitus, heaviness of the head, headache, anorexia, constipation, diarrhea, feeling of weariness, coldness of limbs, cardiac palpitation, irregular mense, micturition disorder, sexual debility, difficult breathing during rest, fainting and angina pectoris-like symptoms.
Anemia symptoms have been known to be caused by various factors. In order to ameliorate symptoms involved with anemia, eating habits are reconsidered and dietary supplements and drugs are given.
However, in the method for ameliorating anemia by intake of foods, satisfactory effects cannot be expected without taking in iron-rich foods simultaneously with nutrients such as vitamins C, B6 and B12 and folic acid. Among pharmaceutical drugs prescribed for anemia symptoms, Ferromia, Ferrum, Fero-Gradumet, TETUCUR, Slow-Fe, Methycobal, Foliamin and Pydoxal can cause, after administration, adverse side effects such as vomiting, nausea, anorexia, stomach discomfort, stomachache, diarrhea, constipation rash, urticaria and itchy.
Therefore, for an anemia-ameliorating composition, studies have been conducted on ingredients contained in naturally occurring products which can be given with ease for a long time, which can be given safely and effortlessly, which involve no adverse side effects, and which have been taken in on a daily basis since long ago.
Use of medicated ginseng for amelioration of anemia has already been known (see JP-A Nos. 08-143465 and 2002-275086) and it has been found that its active ingredients are ginsenosides (see JP-A No. 2002-322068) and triterpene glycoside (see JP-A No. 2003-517016). JP-A No. 2002-322068 describes that the ginsenosides include not only saponins (glycosides) but also protopanaxadiol (PPD) and protopanaxatriol (PPT) which are aglycons remaining after removal of the sugar moiety.
However, there is no previous report about use of panaxadiol (PD) and panaxatriol (PT) for an anemia-ameliorating composition, which are formed after the side chains of the aglycons have been cyclized.
Furthermore, gouty arthritis caused by hyperuricemia has recently been a problem. In Japan, the number of hyperuricemia patients, who are likely to develop gout, is estimated to be about 5,000,000. As younger patients with hyperuricemia have increased, the number of hyperuricemia patients becomes twice or more that seen 20 years ago.
Uric acid is produced in the liver in an almost constant amount from purines from foods. Almost all the uric acid produced is filtered out to urine from the kidney in many cases, followed by excretion. However, when the balance between the amount of uric acid produced and the amount of uric acid excreted is lost due to certain factors (e.g., eating habits, alcohol drinking, stress, reduction in kidney functions, effects of drugs and genetic factors), the uric acid level in the body increases excessively, potentially leading to hyperuricemia. When the blood uric acid level exceeds 7.0 mg/dL as a result of increasing of the uric acid level in the body, such condition is determined as hyperuricemia. When hyperuricemia is not treated for a long time, an excessive amount of uric acid salts forms their crystals around joints and cartilage tissue, inducing gouty arthritis.
Currently, there are some pharmaceutical drugs for the treatment of hyperuricemia. After withdrawal of them, however, the recovered state is returned to the condition of hyperuricemia. Also, after administration, they cause adverse side effects such as fever, rash, hepatic disorder and abnormalities in kidney functions. Accordingly, keen demand has arisen for a therapeutic drug for hyperuricemia which can be given safely and effortlessly for a long time without adverse side effects.
Under such circumstances, much research has been made on plant-origin uric-acid-level-reducing compositions without adverse side effects. For example, JP-A No. 2005-187405 proposes a uric-acid-level-reducing agent containing as an active ingredient activated carbon made by using palm shell as a raw material. JP-A No. 2002-370980 proposes a uric-acid-level-reducing agent containing ginkgo leaf extract as an active ingredient and a food or beverage containing the uric-acid-level-reducing agent. JP-A No. 2002-212085 proposes a uric-acid-level-reducing agent containing as an active ingredient tea polyphenol derived from tea. JP-A No. 2006-16340 proposes a xanthine oxidase inhibitor, a blood-uric-acid-level-reducing agent, a hyperuricemia-preventing or -ameliorating agent, a gout-preventing agent, each containing pomegranate extract as an active ingredient, and a food or beverage, a pharmaceutical drug and a cosmetic, each containing these agents. JP-A No. 2007-153888 proposes an internal body purifying composition containing crude drugs such as Panax notoginseng and ginseng, and a food, a bathing agent, a cosmetic, a pharmaceutical preparation and a harmful metal excretion enhancer containing it, for the purpose of enhancing excretion of toxins from the body such as harmful substances and waste products (e.g., uric acid) which are formed through metabolism in the body. JP-A No. 09-208479 proposes a willow mixture for increasing and enhancing excretion of uric acid, which contains at least one of Panax notoginseng and Panax ginseng as well as a powdery material of plants belonging to the family Salicaceae. JP-A No. 03-9752 proposes a sauna using medical herb such as ginseng for the purpose of giving efficacy to symptoms such as gout. Proc. Symp. WAKAN-YAKU 16 (p. 188 (1983)) reports effects of long-term administration of medicated ginseng on the bodies of hyperlipemia patients, such as a change in the blood uric acid level.